STATE EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION PROGRAM

What is it?

Created by West Virginia Code 5A-1A-1, the West Virginia State Employee Suggestion Program gives monetary or honorary awards to state employees whose adopted suggestions result in substantial savings or improvements in state operations. The program helps stimulate creative and innovative thinking by state government employees and, in turn, sees the beneficial suggestions rewarded.

Who's Eligible?

All West Virginia state government employees are eligible to participate in the State Employee Suggestion Program

Any former state employee who has submitted a suggestion prior to a move from state government

Who's Not?

Employees making a suggestion that would be considered a normal part of their duties and responsibilities

Some supervisory employees

A state employee convicted of a felony connected with state government employment.

What to Do?

It starts with an idea. You determine what area or areas of state government could use a change. You're looking for ways to eliminate unnecessary expenditures or duplication. You want to improve employee morale and you want to receive recognition for your idea.

The Board will forward the suggestion to the appropriate department head who will evaluate the idea. Following this in-office review, the department head will return the suggestion, along with a recommendation to the Employee Suggestion Award Board.

The Board will make a determination as to whether the suggestion should be accepted or denied.

If a suggestion is accepted, the Board will request that the appropriate agency implement the suggestion.

After the suggestion is fully implemented for one year, the agency will inform the Board on the savings incurred as a result of the suggestion's implementation.

The Board will review the findings, and determine whether the employee is eligible for a monetary or honorary award.

Monetary Award Amounts

Monetary awards are based on the first year's estimated savings after the suggestion has been fully implemented. The award amount is up to 20% of the first year savings with a maximum award of $10,000. For example, if you make a suggestion that is implemented and saves your agency $5,000 in the first year, you may be eligible for an award of up to $1,000.

Recent Winner - The rePortal Team, Department of Environmental Protection
The rePortal Team consists of a team of 10 employees from the Department of Environmental Protection. They developed a way to automatically run Crystal reports to extract data from WVFIMs, personnel, and the EPICS payroll system at non-critical times without human intervention. The suggestion resulted in a first year savings of $66,883 attributed to a decrease in Crystal software licenses, reduction in staff time, and reduction in equipment upgrades. The team was awarded a total of $10,000 for their suggestion, $1,000 for each team member. The rePortal team includes the following state employees: Ann Baker, Ramona Dickson, Connie Dunlap, M. Scott Fairchild, Dewayne Harless, Craig Hatcher, Barbara Miles, Gregory L. Null, Jennifer Paxton and Randy Taylor.Pictured: rePortal Team members, Board Chair Delegate Stan Shaver with Governor Manchin, and Board members: Senator Frank Deem and Delegate Walter Duke on the far right. (Photo: Martin Valent, West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information)